Source: Detroit Free Press

On June 29, 2001, the Detroit Free Press reported that "a White House effort to reach out to Muslim Americans ended in hard feelings...when Secret Service agents mistakenly evicted one guest and the other participants walked out in protest." The evicted student "is also the nephew of Mazen al-Najjar, a Palestinian who was jailed for three years after the government alleged he used an Islamic think tank at the University of South Florida as a front for terrorism."

Source: Associated Press

On June 29, 2001, the Associated Press reported that "a group of Muslim leaders walked out of a White House meeting..., angered when a Secret Service officer ordered one of them out of the building." The evicted student "is the nephew of Mazen Al-Najjar, a Palestinian who was jailed in Florida for three years after the government alleged he used an Islamic think tank...as a front for terrorism. He was released last December after a panel of judges and Attorney General Janet Reno agreed there was no reason to keep him behind bars...

Source: Knight Ridder Newspapers

On June 29, 2001, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported that "about two dozen representatives from various Muslim organizations filed out of a meeting with White House officials after Abdullah Al-Arian, a congressional intern and an outspoken critic of Israel, was asked to leave. A Secret Service spokesman said the eviction was a mistake... The security mix-up added a new strain to Bush's already difficult relations with the Muslim community and Arab Americans. After supporting Bush in the November election, members of both...

Source: Reuters English News Service

On June 28, 2001, Reuters English News Service reported that "a group of American Muslims walked out of a White House meeting in anger...after one member was asked to leave by the Secret Service."

Source: The American Muslim Council

On June 28, 2001, the American Muslim Council issued a press release reporting that, "Following...the unexpected removal of Abdallah Al-Arian, a 20-year-old college senior and intern...from a...meeting to brief the American Muslim leadership on the President's Faith and Community Based Initiative, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer reported that: 'The President is very concerned that an action was taken that was wrong, inappropriate and the President apologizes for it on behalf of the White House.' Although we...

Source: cair-net

On June 27, 2001, the Council on American-Islamic Relations reported that "Bret Schundler, the mayor of Jersey City, N.J., won the Republican nomination for governor..., defeating a former congressman in a race tainted by accusations of Islamophobia." Schundler had been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League for speaking at a meeting of the American Muslim Alliance on the grounds that AMA's leaders had challenged policies of the state of Israel. Schundler said that "he would be caving in to anti-Muslim bigotry if he shunned AMA representatives...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On June 26, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan urged rap artists at this month's Hip-Hop Summit in New York to take their lyrical discourse to a higher level...Hip-hop's reverence for Farrakhan is just one reason why...the Muslim cleric enjoys the distinction of being the only...religious figure in America who commands respect among considerable portions of America's black youth...Farrakhan...urged the artists...to choose words wisely...'I am learning every day that...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 24, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "in the first Los Angeles conference focusing on Muslim domestic violence, several speakers" objected to the use of religious text to justify family violence. "The conference is part of the Peaceful Families Project, an Islamic-awareness program funded with a $76,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice." They urged Muslims to separate the culturally influenced practice of domestic violence from the Koran.

Source: The New York Times

On June 24, 2001, The New York Times reported on Dewan Kazi Fahima, who "was named her eighth-grade valedictorian in 1997, [when] her family had been in this country only five years." They are from Bengal. She recently became valedictorian of her high school class at John F. Kennedy High School, too. "'The American dream...holds me in its grasp because I have been blessed to live my own version of it,"' she declared."

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On June 23, 2001, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Southside Bosnian Services Collaborative in St. Louis, which is an organization formed last year to help Bosnians in the region. It is composed of representatives from 40 organizations, including south St. Louis churches, Christian faith-based social agencies, medical clinics and hospitals. Several churches are trying to make Bosnian immigrants in the region feel more welcome.

Source: Religion and Ethics Newsweekly

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week443/pluralism.html

On June 22, 2001 Religion and Ethics Newsweekly reported, "R. Scott Hanson wrote his doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago on 'City of Gods: Religious Freedom, Immigration, and Pluralism in Flushing, New York.' He is a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University. Flushing, Queens is the most religiously and ethnically diverse...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 22, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "a former Contra Costa County social worker sued the county for $1 million..., alleging he was demoted and verbally harassed for being a Muslim and for being black."

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 21, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an organization started by Faisal Alam, who is gay and Muslim, to help others like him reconcile their faith and their sexuality. "Islam, like many religions, condemns homosexuality ...The mere existence of the group upsets orthodox members of the Islamic faith...In addition to the nine chapters, Al-Fatiha has a half-dozen Internet list servers." Al Fatiha's website can be found at www.al-fatiha.net...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 20, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Federal Express Corp. must allow employees to wear beards for religious reasons, the U.S. District Court in Augusta has ruled. The decision came after [Muslim] Khaleed Abdul-Azeez filed a complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that the company violated his religious beliefs and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with its policy prohibiting employees in customer-contact positions from wearing beards."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 19, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "southland Muslim and Jewish leaders decided...to restart a troubled interfaith dialogue group after Mideast tensions moved the Islamic side to freeze the effort last month...The group...has lost members in the last several months as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stoked emotions and suspicions on both sides." Many, however, believe that the issues need to be squarely addressed in interfaith dialogue.